Forty international football stars join UNDP in support of Haiti

Jan 21, 2010

Zidane, Kaka, Portuguese football legend Eusebio and Haitian players Jean Sony and Joseph Peterson will kick off the VII Match Against Poverty in Lisbon on January 25

Geneva/Lisbon — Forty international football players hailing from teams across the world will compete in two heavily star-studded teams in Monday’s seventh annual Match Against Poverty, held this year in Lisbon, Portugal.

For the past seven years, UNDP’s Match Against Poverty has raised funds for global efforts to reduce poverty while at the same time shining a much needed spotlight on those efforts. This year, in the wake of the massive devastation that struck Haiti, the organizers and players decided that all proceeds will go toward relief and reconstruction efforts there.

The players, brought together through the efforts of UNDP Goodwill Ambassador’s Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, include two rising Haitian players from the Portuguese Football Clubs, Jean Sony and Joseph Peterson, representing their recently devastated nation.

The Brazilian midfielder Kaká (Real Madrid) will represent Ronaldo who, unfortunately, is unable to attend the Match as he starts, on 24 January, the Brazilian football season with his Club Corinthians.

The Match is also intended to focus attention on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted in 2000. They seek to halve world poverty by 2015.

The Match Against Poverty is supported by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).